Roy Hinson

Roy Hinson (born May 2, 1961) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round (20th overall) of the 1983 NBA Draft. Hinson attended Franklin High School in Franklin Township, New Jersey. He then played his college career at Rutgers University in nearby New Brunswick. A 6'9" forward–center, Hinson played in eight NBA seasons from 1983 to 1991, for the Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets.

Hinson's best year as a professional came during the 1985–86 season as a member of the Cavaliers, appearing in 82 games and averaging 19.6 points per game. He also participated in the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, finishing seventh out of eight contestants. In his NBA career, Hinson played in 507 games and scored a total of 7,206 points.

References

Slam dunk

A slam dunk, also dunk or dunk shot, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball(s) above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by putting the ball directly through the basket with one or both hands. This is considered a normal field goal attempt; if successful it is worth two points. Such a shot was known as a "dunk shot" until the term "slam dunk" was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn.

The slam dunk is the most efficient basketball shot. Moreover, it is a crowd-pleaser. Thus, the maneuver is often extracted from the basketball game and showcased in slam dunk contests. Perhaps the most popular is the NBA Slam Dunk Contest held during the annual NBA All-Star Weekend. The seminal incarnation of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest was held during the half-time of the 1976 American Basketball Association All-Star Game.

Dunking was banned in the NCAA from 1967 to 1976. Many people have attributed this to the dominance of the then-college phenomenon Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar); the no-dunking rule is sometimes referred to as the "Lew Alcindor rule."

Slam Dunk Contest

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the Verizon Slam Dunk for sponsorship reasons) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was inaugurated by the American Basketball Association (ABA) at its All-Star Game in 1976 in Denver, the same year the slam dunk was legalized in the NCAA. As a result of the ABA-NBA merger later that year there would not be another slam dunk contest at the professional level until 1984. The contest has adopted several formats over the years, including, until 2014, the use of fan voting, via text-messaging, to determine the winner of the final round.

The very first slam dunk contest was won by Julius Erving of the Nets at the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. The current champion of the NBA Dunk Contest is Zach LaVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

History

1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest

On January 27, 1976 at McNichols Sports Arena during halftime of the 1976 ABA All Star Game the first-ever Slam Dunk Contest was held, which was won by Julius Erving of the New York Nets over David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets, Artis Gilmore of the Kentucky Colonels, and George Gervin and Larry Kenon of the San Antonio Spurs. There was a format each competitor had to follow in which they must attempt 5 dunks in a row under two minutes. One from a standing position, one from a distance of ten feet away from the basket (which is basically the bottom of the semi circle that surrounds the free throw line in the Key. The next 3 were freelance positions, one coming in from the left side of the basket, one coming in from the right side of the basket and finally from either corner down the baseline to the basket. They were judged on artistic ability, imagination, body flow as well as fan response.

Spud Webb

Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb (born July 13, 1963) is an American retired professional basketball point guard. Webb, who played in the National Basketball Association, is notable for winning a slam dunk contest despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history. NBA.com lists him at 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall. He is currently the President of Basketball Operations for the Texas Legends, the D-League team for the Dallas Mavericks in Frisco, Texas.

Life and career

Early years

Webb was born into poverty in Dallas, Texas. He was raised in a small two-bedroom home and used basketball as an inspiration. Webb was not tall, but he used his quickness and jumping ability to outplay the other, bigger kids. Starting in the seventh grade, Webb was told that he was too short to play basketball. He received a chance to play on his junior high team only after two players forgot to complete their physical exam requirements in time for the first game. Webb scored 20 points in that first game. He could dunk the ball when he was 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m). At Wilmer-Hutchins High School, he played on the junior varsity team where he made a large impact. When he made the varsity team, he averaged 26 points per game.

Dominique Wilkins

Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born 12 January 1960) is an American retired professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, and one of the best dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname The Human Highlight Film. In 2006, Wilkins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Early life and college

Wilkins was born in Paris, France because his father was stationed there while in the U.S. Air Force. Wilkins' family then moved to Dallas and Baltimore before settling in Washington, North Carolina, where he attended Washington High School. He was the back-to-back MVP for the team's consecutive Class 3-A State Championships (1978–1979). Wilkins was in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated while in high school for a performance in a game vs. a higher classification school in which he scored 48 points, had 27 rebounds, 9 dunks, and 8 blocks. Wilkins then starred in the McDonald's All-American Game, The Capital Classic, The Kentucky Derby Festival Classic, and The Dapper Dan Classic All-Star Games. He had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the McDonald's, 26 points in the Capital, and 22 points in the Derby Classic. He entered the University of Georgia in 1979 with an established reputation as an exciting player. Wilkins averaged 21.6 points a game over his career and was named SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 1981. He left college after his junior year and was selected third overall (behind James Worthy and Terry Cummings) by the Utah Jazz in the 1982 NBA draft.